International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
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Volume: 06 Issue: 04 | Apr 2019
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Choice and Feasibility of Stabilization Methods based on Soil Properties
Eldhose M Majummekudiyil1, Arsha James2 , Fasal Mustafa3, Jyothi S4, Syamkrishna K M5
1Assitant
Professor, Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam, India
Graduate Students, Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam, India
---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------2,3,4,5 Under
Abstract - Soil stabilization can be explained as the
the numerous methods available. It will also ensure the
maximum improvement of the properties with least effort
and economy.
alteration of the soil properties by chemical or physical means
in order to enhance the engineering quality of the soil. Many
methods for soil stabilization have already been put forward
but different types of soil require different materials to
stabilize it. The project aims at finding the best and most
effective materials for stabilizing each category of soil. The soil
samples are classified into cohesive, cohesionless and cohesivefrictional soil. The materials selected for stabilization are
flyash, coir fiber, slag and wood shavings. The improvements
in the properties of each category by the addition of different
proportions of these materials are studied. The properties
considered are maximum dry density, cohesion and angle of
internal friction. Flyash was found to improve the cohesion
and addition coir fiber was able to improve the friction of any
category of soil. Maximum dry density was obtained by the
addition of the combination of 5% flyash and 0.5% coir fiber
into cohesive-frictional soil, a combination of 5% slag and 5%
flyash to cohesionless soil and 10% flyash to cohesive soil.
2. MATERIALS USED
Different materials that can be used as additives for soil
stabilization were identified. All the materials are not
suitable to be used in soil. So, the material properties need to
be studied before using it. The focus is on waste materials of
different industries so that the waste accumulation which is
harmful for the environment can be reduced. Due to time
constraints, the number of materials used was limited to
four.
2.1 Flyash
Fly ash is a byproduct from burning pulverized coal in
electric power generating plants. . Fly ash chemically reacts
with the byproduct calcium hydroxide released by the
chemical reaction between cement and water to form
additional cementitious products. The cementitious property
helps the soils to improve its cohesion. Flyash was added to
each soil in 5%, 10% and 15% by weight of the soil and tests
were conducted.
Key Words: stabilization, flyash, coir fiber, slag, wood
shavings
1. INTRODUCTION
Soil stabilization can be explained as the alteration of the soil
properties by chemical or physical means in order to
enhance the engineering quality of the soil. Unstable soils
can create significant problems for pavements or structures,
therefore soil stabilization techniques are necessary to
ensure the good stability of soil so that it can successfully
sustain the load of the superstructure especially in case of
soil which are highly active, also it saves a lot of time and
millions of money when compared to the method of cutting
out and replacing the unstable soil.
2.2 Coir Fiber
Coir is a versatile natural fibre extracted from mesocarp
tissue, or husk of the coconut fruit. These fibers are
biodegradable which take 20 years to degrade in ground and
environmentally friendly. It has the greatest tearing strength
among all natural fibers and retains this property in wet
conditions. Therefore, coconut fiber is selected as the
reinforcement material. The different percentages added to
the soil were 0.5%,1% and 2%. The fibers were cut into
smaller lengths of about 2cm and mixed with soil. The fibers
were arranged randomly in the soil.
Many methods for soil stabilization have already been put
forward by many researchers. It involves a large number by
using both cheap and costly materials. But for different
types of soil, different materials should be used to stabilize it.
Finding the most suitable material for a particular type of
soil is still difficult. If the materials for stabilization are not
carefully selected, it may make the efforts for stabilization
worthless.
2.3 Slag
It is the waste product of steel industry. The waste slag is
commonly used as a landfill material for its disposal. So by
using it in soil stabilization, it reduces the amount of waste
produced. The slag that we used is having size between
4.75mm and 75microns. Instead of improving the cohesive
property of soil, the slag used improved the internal friction.
It is due to the increased particle size. The slag was added in
different proportions such as 5%, 10% and 15% to the soil
The project focuses on finding the best and most effective
materials for stabilizing each category of soil by classifying
them on the basis of shear strength parameters such as
cohesion and internal friction. It will help to select between
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International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 06 Issue: 04 | Apr 2019
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
www.irjet.net
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
by weight. The improvement in properties was identified by
testing the soils after proper mixing.
Three samples of soil were collected, one from each category
namely cohesive, cohesionless and cohesive-frictional soil.
The properties of the samples were determined by
conducting the different tests. The properties and given in
Table 1.
2.4 Wood Shavings
Wood shavings is the waste obtained when wood is shaped or
planed using carpentry tools or machines like planers and
milling machines. The wood shavings has wooden fibers in it
which acts as reinforcement in soil. It improves the stiffness
and strength of soil. The wood shavings was crushed in
smaller size and randomly mixed with the soil and
compacted well to find out the improvement in strength.
Table 1: Properties of soil samples
Sample
Cohesivefrictional
soil
Cohesionless
soil
Cohesive
soil
Maximum
dry density
(g/cc)
1.8
1.79
1.48
Optimum
moisture
content
(%)
14.85
17.57
25.48
Cohesion
(KPa)
5
1
18
Angle of
internal
friction (0)
16.7
23.63
2.86
3. TESTS CONDUCTED
3.1 Sieve Analysis
A sieve analysis is a practice or procedure used to assess the
particle size distribution of a granular material by allowing
the material to pass through a series of sieves of
progressively smaller mesh size and weighing the amount of
material that is stopped by each sieve as a fraction of the
whole mass.
3.2 Standard Proctor Test
The Proctor compaction test is a laboratory method of
experimentally determining the optimal moisture content at
which a given soil type will become most dense and achieve
its maximum dry density. The maximum dry density is an
indicative of the bearing capacity of soil. After adding each
percentage of additives into the soil, the maximum dry
density is determined and it compared to that of original soil
sample for analysing the improvement.
The selected materials are then added to the soil in different
proportions and the changes in the properties are
determined. The materials are also added in different
combinations to achieve higher amount of improvement. The
comparison of the results is shown in figures. Fig. 1,4 and 7
shows the maximum dry density after inducing different
materials in cohesive-frictional soil, cohesionless soil and
cohesive soil respectively. Fig. 2,5 and 8 shows the
improvement in cohesion of cohesive-frictional soil,
cohesionless soil and cohesive soil respectively. Similarly,
Fig. 3,6 and 9 shows the changes in the angle of internal
friction.
3.3 Trixial Test
Triaxial shear test is a common method to find out the shear
strength parameters of soil such as cohesion and angle of
internal friction. The shear parameters are determined
inorder to classify the soil into different categories.
Improvement in cohesion and friction points to the
increased shear strength of soil. The materials that can be
added to improve shear strength is found out by comparing
the results of triaxial test for cohesive and cohesive-frictional
soil.
3.4 Direct Shear Test
Direct shear test is conducted to determine the shear
strength parameter of cohesionless soil. For cohesionless
soil, mould can be made so this test is adopted. The
improvement in cohesion and angle of internal friction is
analysed after the addition of each materials in different
proportions.
Fig 1: maximum dry density of cohesive frictional soil
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International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 06 Issue: 04 | Apr 2019
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
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Fig 2: cohesion of cohesive-frictional soil
Fig 5: Cohesion of cohesionless soil
Fig 3: Anlge of internal friction of cohesive-frictional soil
Fig 6: Anlge of internal friction of cohesionless soil
Fig 4: Maximum dry density of cohesionless soil
Fig 7: Maximum dry density of cohesive soil
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Volume: 06 Issue: 04 | Apr 2019
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Flyash was found to useful in improving the cohesion of the
cohesionless soil. As the percentage of flyash is increased,
the amount of cohesion achieved also increase.
Coir fiber was found to be most effective for improving the
angle of internal friction. Slag can also improve friction but in
a smaller amount.
REFERENCES
[1] Dr. Robert M Brooks, (2009), “Soil Stabilization with
Flyash and Rice Husk Ash”, International Journal of Research
and Reviews in Applied Sciences, Vol 1, Issue 3
[2] PooriaGhadir and NavidRanjbar, (2018), “Clayey Soil
Stabilization using Geopolymer and Portland cement”,
Construction and Building Materials, Vol 188, Pages 361-371
Fig 8: cohesion of cohesive soil
[3] Nader Hataf, PooriaGhadir and NavidRanjbar, (2018),
“Investigation of Soil Stabilization using Chitosan
Biopolymer”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol 170, Pages
1493-1500
[4] SasanMoravej, GhassemHabibagahi, EhsanNikooee, and
Ali Niazi, (2018), “Stabilization of Dispersive Soils by means
of Biological Calcite precipitation”, Geoderma, Vol 315, Pages
130-137
[5] Ashkan GHolipoor Norozi, Siavash Kouravand,
Mohammad Boveiri" A review of using the waste in soil
stabilization", International Journal of Engineering Trends
and Technology (IJETT), V21(1),33-37 March 2015.
Fig 9: Angle of internal friction of cohesive soil
3. CONCLUSIONS
[6] Ground Improvement Techniques, [online] Available at:
<http:/www.engineeringcivil.com>
The materials adopted for stabilization are waste materials
of different industries. So it has two advantages; the
stabilization method becomes less costly and amount of
waste accumulated can be reduced.
[7] Dr. K.R. Arora, “Soil Mechanics and Foundation
Engineering”, Standard Publishers Distributors
[8] IS 2720(IV):1985 Methods of Test for soils,
determination of grain size analysis
Maximum dry density is indicative of bearing capacity of soil.
[9] IS 2720(X): 1991 Methods for Test of Soils,
determination of unconfined compression test
Improvement of bearing capacity of cohesive-frictional soil
can be achieved by the addition of flyash upto 10%, coir fiber
of 0.5% and the maximum improvement in achieved by the
addition of the combination of 5% flyash and 0.5% coir fiber.
Bearing capacity of cohesionless soil can be improved by
adding flyash or slag upto 10% but the maximum
improvement is achieved by the combination of 5% slag and
5% flyash.
Bearing capacity of cohesive soil is improved by the addition
of flyash and slag in 5% and 10%. Addition of coir fiber in
1% also improved the bearing capacity. Maximum
improvement is brought by the addition of 10% flyash.
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